Oman plans ‘high-cost’ energy projects in 2016-2020

Oman intends to carry out new high cost projects to expand its hydrocarbon sector in its upcoming 2016-2020 development plan despite the sharp fall in crude prices, the Gulf country’s oil minister said in press comments on Thursday.

Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi told Oman’s Arabic language daily Al-Watan that the 2016-2020 plan would focus on increasing the country’s oil and gas reserves, and production through exploration and field development.

The new projects in the next five-year plan are based on extracting heavy crude and using enhanced techniques in production…these projects will be of high cost nature and this means higher capital and operation expenses by the operating companies,” he said.

He did not give details of the projects or their costs but said they are generally designed to increase the hydrocarbon sector’s contribution to the domestic economy through the construction of new energy industrial projects and the attraction of more local and foreign investment in the hydrocarbon sector.

He said investments in the eighth five-year plan for 2011-2015 totaled around 11.75 billion rials ($30.5 billion.

Oman, which is not an Opec member, said in August its oil output surpassed one million bpd for the first time following the completion of some field development projects. The country’s proven crude and gas reserves are estimated at 5.5 billion barrels and 850 billion cubic metres respectively, according to official data.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.